Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, joined by his two predecessors Jim Roddey and Dan Onorato, introduced a report Thursday that they said would be the first step toward passing a state law to allow municipalities to disincorporate and rely on the county for government services.

With 130 municipalities, more than any other county in the state, officials at the press conference said the proposed measure--a recommendation by the report Voluntary Municipal Disincorporation: Creative Solutions for Counties of the Second Class by the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute of Politics--would allow smaller municipalities who struggle to support local services such as police or trash collection, or even elect local officials, to become “an entity of the county.”

During their regular meeting Tuesday evening, Allegheny County Council voted in favor to ban the use of e-cigarettes everywhere regular cigarettes are not allowed.

The council members voted 8-5, with two members abstaining, to ban vaping in public places such as health-related properties, indoor workplaces, restaurants, schools, sports facilities, and transit stations. That proposal was crafted and recommended by the county health department in fall 2016.

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald was joined Thursday morning by representatives from the Allegheny County Housing Authority (ACHA), Habitat for Humanity of Greater Pittsburgh and the Allegheny County-Habitat Homeownership Initiative to announce a collaborative to provide homeownership opportunities for low and limited income families- a first for the county.

“Homeownership remains one of the most important goals because of the benefits it provides to families and the communities in which they live,” said Fitzgerald. “We want people to invest in their homes, their community and this county and know that, for many, that investment begins as a homeowner.”